Lessons Learn More About… Manufacturers Cymbal Companies Drumhead Companies World Instruments Misc.
Get the Latest Drumming News
Arbiter Drums
Arbiter Drums began in 1958 with Ivor Arbiter who opened the first drum store in London. Although he helped to create the famous “drop-t” Beatles logo, Arbiter is most famous for his unique
tuning drums.
The heads are held to the drums shell with a special clamp which is common in high pressure engineering applications.
A single screw on the clamp controls the tension of the
drum heads.
The clamp ensures that tension remains even across the entire head. Tuning can be tricky with standard drums that come with multiple tension rods. But, with the Arbiter single screw tension design it is a breeze.
In 1975, Ivor Arbiter released the Autotune drums which were constructed of fiberglass and was the beginning of the single screw tuning system. The tuning model used on these instruments were similar to the lid of a canning jar. The lid tightens like a screw which either increases or decreases the tension on the heads. In the late 90’s Ivor discovered the V-Clamp and based his current single-screw tuning system on this clamp. This discovery spawned the AT series which is available in either the Maple series or the Vibrasonic (basswood).
The AT system gave birth to the “Flats” series which was released in ’99. It is basically a lighter version of the AT series. The Flats series won “Best New Product of 1999” from the Music Industry Association. In 2002, Flats Lite was released which was a whole kit in a box.
Cymbals,drum sticks,
and all the pieces came in the box. This was capable only because of the unique design of the drums. Arbiter Flats remove so much of the shell and leave only the important bearing edge yet still retain the quality and sound of standard drums.
Arbiter Drums Videos
Here are a couple videos that let you see what these innovational Arbiter kits look like. The last video offers a review of the Traps A400 Drums.